Re: Resume Question
1. Is this 6 weeks or so in retail something that should (must?) go on my resume?Why should it? Contrary to many people's assumptions, a resume is neither a complete nor an objective history of your employment. It is a list of jobs and experience that qualify you for the job you submit it for. After all, if you've worked for more than a decade, how could you to keep the length down to a manageable size if you include everything you've ever done? You couldn't, especially if you hoped to give enough detail to make the job worth listing.
If the job can be made relevant to tech-writing - say, for example, if you managed other employees, or are applying for a job documenting software for retail sales - then include it. If it's not relevant, omit it.
This advice holds even for forms that ask you to list employers. I think that you can take for granted that you are being asked for relevant employment, not a comprehensive history.
In some cases, it might. But I doubt that many employers look for a job history that is a continual advancement from triumph to greater triumph. They're usually far more interested in finding someone who can do the job.
2. If so, would that work against me in my continuing efforts to find a tech writing position? My work history will show me going from a rather high-paying professional position to a minimum wage temp job in retail. Would this flag my resume for the refuse bin?
Anyway, there's not a very lengthy career path for tech-writers unless you branch out into something else. Nor is tech-writing an ideal starting point for someone who is serious about climbing the corporate ladder. You can advance from Writers Junior, Intermediate, Senior, toManager - and that's about it. Many people can climb this ladder in a two or three years without reallly trying, and, in many cases, there's not a huge gap between writers of five years' experience and of fifteen.
If you feel you must put your retail job in your resume, why not just put it under "Misc." at the end?
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Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
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Resume Question: From: CubFCL
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